Where's the Zamboni????

FuzzyFace · ‎03-15-2010

I'm watching ice-dancing and the ice is starting to look pretty beat up. Do they ever Zamboni the ice between events?

StylishLady · ‎03-11-2010

Good question.

Love my grandkids · ‎11-24-2013

I did some 'net searching and this was the best I could come up with. Course, it may have changed since this was posted:

"In singles skating, the ice is usually resurfaced after 12 skaters have performed. In pairs skating and ice dance, after 8 pairs"

Maybe someone else can find better info!

FrostyBabe1 · ‎05-09-2016

They do it between the groups. We don't see it because the event is taped.

~The more someone needs to brag about how wonderful, special, successful, wealthy or important they are, the greater the likelihood that it isn't true. ~

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

wrote:

I'm watching ice-dancing and the ice is starting to look pretty beat up. Do they ever Zamboni the ice between events?

@FuzzyFace

As an old hockey skater/player and Ref, I would loved to have skated on ice you see as "pretty best up". I realize the need for a smooth ice surface, but hockey games can, and are also effected, by a rough ice surface. With 10 players and 4 on-ice officials during an NHL hockey game, for most viewers, they don't look or care about the ice surface, and it is harder to see.

When I skate at public skating, there is also a young 17 year old boy figure skating. He just missed making the US Olympic Team male singles. He does several triple jumps, some back to back, and he never complains about the ice surface. All figure skaters practice on their home ice, and from my experiences of knowing many over the decades, they too would love to practice on such "beat up" ice.

That Olympic size ice surface is 100'X200', which is 15' wider than a regulation NHL ice surface. I don't know the exact size of the ice for these figure skating events, but the appear to me to be Olympic Size.

A good Zamboni clean and allowing the ice to dry, depending on humidity and other factors, can be over a half hour. The actual competitions are not "recorded", thus how your number is selected can make a big difference in any type of ice skating event.

I watched some of the speed skating competition and man did it look great. My mouth watered wanting to be able skate on that ice surface. All I know is my skates had better have a good hollow on the blades or they would not even grip that type of surface.

My hope is all skaters are judged for every single thing, including the ice condition, if the judges are fair in scoring each competitor, in all types of skating events not going by time or number of goals scored.

Any sport, that is reliant on something as subjective as scoring any single or doubles event? I am glad every sport I participated in was won or lost by goals scored/accurately timed events, or 1st/2nd/3rd place reaching a finish line.

More than anyone wanted to know? Ice events are a passion for me, some forms moreso than others. I also know how rink ice is formed and how it is maintained in our city and other ice rinks around the Midwest, and 1 in Canada.

Go USA,

hckynut(john)